A DRUG which significantly shrank tumours in 21 men with advanced prostate cancer could provide new hope to patients with this form of the disease.
The results of the phase I clinical trials of the drug abiraterone were released yesterday by the Institute of Cancer Research in the UK, which carried out the trial in association with the Royal Marsden Hospital.
Twenty-one patients ranging in age from 52 to 85 years were recruited to the study between December 13th, 2005, and February 22nd, 2007.
Evidence of tumour shrinkage was observed in 70-80 per cent of the men in the study, who had not responded to other treatments. Tumour shrinkage was determined by a reduction in their blood level of prostate specific antigen (PSA) - a protein associated with prostate cancer activity, and also with analyses of their CAT, MRI and bone scans.
A spokeswoman for the Institute of Cancer Research said that while it would not normally get excited about the results of phase I trials, other trials of the drug had been taking place which also showed positive results.
She said a phase II trail involving about 100 patients had been completed and would soon be reported, and a phase III trial with 1,200 patients worldwide has just begun. These will include patients attending a Belfast hospital.
The drug is not viewed as a cure for prostate cancer but is seen as one that could control the disease and prolong life.
Dr Johann de Bono, lead researcher, said the drug worked to block the generation of key hormones that drive the growth of prostate cancers.
He said the men taking part in the trial had very aggressive prostate cancer which is "exceptionally difficult to treat and almost always proves to be fatal".
Apart from their tumours shrinking while on the drug, a number of the patients were able to stop taking morphine for the relief of bone pain, he said.
"It is envisaged that this drug will be available for general use from 2011 and we hope it can become widely available. In the interim, it is available through clinical trials only."
Some 2,407 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in the Republic in 2005, the latest year for which full data is available, and in that year some 540 deaths from the disease were recorded.
Sonya Bowen, prostate cancer information services manager with the Irish Cancer Society, said the society would welcome any advances in treating advanced prostate cancer.
"It's definitely good news. But we need to exercise caution as well because its a phase I trial and there were only 21 men in the trial. We just need to wait for further studies with a larger cohort."
• The Irish Cancer Society's prostate cancer information service helpline number is 1800 380 380.